Yes I'm gaming. Keep going off the budget/target range thats been created in the following -
Let me start off by telling you what I KNOW I'm buying:
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8400 (2x 3.0GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 512MB
4GB Ram
With that being said, I decided to buy this rig when Age of Conan didn't run on my old comp.
The specs above will well run the game. I will most likely not be upgrading this computer again
until Darkfall Online and Diablo 3 come out(a couple years). Use this information to base:
1)What motherboard?? P5n?? pk5?? p35??...etc...x36 for future??..etc
2)Which of the brands/speeds of ram????
3)'Which PSU power supply? Not some junky crap that wont pump out power on rails
4)(quality cases)Which case has enough space and is easy to install all this??
If you can assist in any of the questions please do.

Quote: Originally Posted by dirtydfl Yes I'm gaming. Keep going off the budget/target range thats been created in the following - Let me start off by telling you what I KNOW I'm buying: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8400 (2x 3.0GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB) NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 512MB 4GB Ram

Sweet!

That's the same cpu/gpu I just put together myself. Great combination! (Particularly when coming out of a socket 478 circa 2004 ...)

FYI: great 8800GT 512MB deals:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134035 - $144.99 after MIR
Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N800-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards - $159.99 after MIR
Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards - $160.00 after MIR

Quote:

Quote: 1)What motherboard?? P5n?? pk5?? p35??...etc...x36 for future??..etc 2)Which of the brands/speeds of ram???? 3)'Which PSU power supply? Not some junky crap that wont pump out power on rails 4)(quality cases)Which case has enough space and is easy to install all this?? If you can assist in any of the questions please do.

1. I went with a P35 because, to be honest, this was just an interim rig until Nehalem comes out. So I didn't want to spend a lot of cash on the mobo / cpu.
2. There are some great deals on newegg, but OCZ and particularly Corsair are well loved by me.
3. PCPower&Cooling FTW!! NewEgg is also having great deals on these. I picked up the Silencer 610, which is more than capable of powering up that CPU and GPU, and any amount of peripherals you want to throw at it. Currently, it's $100 at NewEgg after MIR. Newegg.com - PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, cUL, CE, CB, TUV - Power Supplies
4. If you're going to buy a new case, think about going to Best Buy. No, seriously. If you've followed MNPC_Tech's log, you know that the Rocket Fish case available at Best Buy (SKU #8428604 -- and on sale at a lot of Best Buys) is actually a Lian Li.

More info here: Rocketfish case - What to do with it? update 03/28 - bit-tech.net Forums

-godling

So what is your budget exactly?

I will also be buying a setup like this soon:

Newegg.com - MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
- It doesn't have the rebate anymore (used to be $160). Some people complain of the plastic cover touching the fan, but it's easily removable. After that you've got a sweet heatpipe cooled card (if you dont mind that is takes up to slots).

Newegg.com - ASUS P5E-VM HDMI LGA 775 Intel G35 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
- maybe a tad on the expensive side, but it's got good specs.

Newegg.com - Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE DA700 700W ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V - Power Supplies
- Quite expensive but single rail and fully modular.

Newegg.com - Thermaltake LANBOX Lite VF6000BWS Black SECC Japanese steel Gaming Cube Computer Case - Computer Cases
- Did plenty of research on this case. Has room for all these parts. And if you're planning on using a custom cooler in it, it has to be less than 100mm tall to fit under the PSU.

My budget is pretty much:
how ever much $$ it costs for an e8400, 8800gt, 4g ram PLUS however much more $ needed to put these 3 things together flawlessly. Get my drift? I've done the budget selection through the cpu/gfx card/ram.

Thanks for all the comments, I won't be able to speak on each one as time is limited, but some questions before I log.

About the case - Best buy has a rocketfish for 50$ - solid deal. The question though is will I be able to install everything(mobo, cpu, grfx card, psu, sound card, all the wires) without modifying it myself(i dont have access to tools). If not then it looks like the Cm 690

Quote: Originally Posted by dirtydfl My budget is pretty much: how ever much $$ it costs for an e8400, 8800gt, 4g ram PLUS however much more $ needed to put these 3 things together flawlessly. Get my drift? I've done the budget selection through the cpu/gfx card/ram. Thanks for all the comments, I won't be able to speak on each one as time is limited, but some questions before I log. About the case - Best buy has a rocketfish for 50$ - solid deal. The question though is will I be able to install everything(mobo, cpu, grfx card, psu, sound card, all the wires) without modifying it myself(i dont have access to tools). If not then it looks like the Cm 690

Check the link I sent in the above post ... that case is spacious, being a full tower, and doesn't need to be modded in the least. Reviewed with great airflow (2 120mm fans), plenty of bays, and a simple, sleek look. No windows though, so if you want to show off the innards you need to open it up.

-godling

Not sure if anyone said this already, but you should get a motherboard that has PCI-E 2.0 if you want to use your video card to its full potential. Ive worked with a couple 780i motherboards, both from XFX and eVGA, and I highly recomend them. A bit expensive, but works like a charm and solid as a rock

My brother has this paired up with about $2000 worth of other hardware, and it fits in just fine
Newegg.com - EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Or if thats a bit to expensive, you can go with a 750i
Newegg.com - EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i FTW SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Good luck with your build

(this thread has been posted on multiple forums, hence that explains any mix ups or inconsistencies)
Thanks for the replies. I've narrowed it down further now, now its time for you guys to fine pick.
Decided:
GeForce 8800GTS 512mb(faster/newer/better then 8800gt, 30$ more)
Intel Duo E8400 procs.
Rocket Fish Case(full tower Lian Li case for 50$ at best buy!!!)
A p35 chipset motherboard
4 GB(2x2GB) DDR2-800

The Questions:
1)Which p35 motherboard will run the above with no hassels/compatibilty issues(ex. I don't want
to have to spend 10 hours getting it to post)? Gigabyte is a favorite thats been thrown at me but newegg shows Gigabyte as having like 10 different p35 boards/revisions. Asus was also recomended to me. But which specific model should I get? I just really don't want to have to go through the BS of flashing bios..etc before I can even boot to windows.
2)Haven't gotten to break apart and get down to PSU's yet, so keep that discussion up
3)Ditto with the brand of ram I'll buy, but its down to the regulars(g.skill, OCZ, Crucial, Corsair)

Also now getting slightly OT - but I have no moniter, so I'll need to buy one. If you guys come upon any deals let me know. I just want something in the same budget lines as above, with resolution above 1024x768(can't game in that anymore guys, hurts the eyes lol), light/not heavy screen, but most importantly something that will due justice to spending the $ on the new psu/gfc card/mobo. Basically I've been gaming on my 17 inch widescreen laptop up till now, I'm not used to playing games in uber high resoulutions/extra large moniter screens, so you know pretty much anythings an upgrade =)

I'd wait a month and get a P45 motherboard...should be coming in at reasonable prices and they're going to be good performers.

As for the screen, 22'' is a good size but it really depends on your budget.

The first P-45 is at new egg from Asus..a bit pricey IMO at 209$

Newegg.com - ASUS P5Q Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P45 Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

I am a DFI fan from way back myself, and the second highest "Customer: rating at New Egg is the P-35 based "Blood Iron" at 115$ and with 63 reviews giving it a rating of 5 out of 5, it can't be too shabby!

Newegg.com - DFI BloodIron P35-T2RL LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Number 4 on the list is the Lan Party "Dark" for only a few $$ more, it has 49 reviews..also with a score of 5

Newegg.com - DFI LANPARTY DK P35-T2RS LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Normally DFI is a tweekers OC board, that sometimes required a bit of fussing to get running right (Though you may need a Bios update for a 45NM CPU) I myself did not have any issues with them running right out of the box (AMD XP~ Socket 939) and the new ones sem to be even better according to the reviews I've read...if you OC, they are good choices.

ASUS and Gigabyte are great boards also..but like you said, there are so many versions, it's hard to know wich one is the best for your money, I do know from my last trip to Microcenter (A week ago) there was a stack of ASUS P5-K-'s in the discounted return pile, and I overheard one of the salesmen telling a cusomer that 95% of all those boards sold are returned DAO or not functioning correctly.

Maybe somone else that has owned a good ASUS or Gigabyte can steer you in the right direction.

I would get this for a monitor:

Newegg.com - Acer P243WAid Black-Silver 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP Support 400 cd/m2 3000:1 ACM - LCD Monitors

Good specs, cheap for a 24" and HDMI.

I apologize, I meant I've grown up on a 14 inch widescreen and 17 inch regular(like 13 inch viewable lol). Anything over 19" would be too much for me to adjust too. Is there such things as good Lcs's under 19" or is that the lowest really now?

Quote: Originally Posted by dirtydfl I apologize, I meant I've grown up on a 14 inch widescreen and 17 inch regular(like 13 inch viewable lol). Anything over 19" would be too much for me to adjust too. Is there such things as good Lcs's under 19" or is that the lowest really now?

In that case I'd recommend this:

Newegg.com - Acer X193W+BD Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 2000:1 (ACM) - LCD Monitors

Same height as a 17" reg and very clear picture. I'm using a slightly older model now.

You can get 17" wide screens but I'm not sure why you'd want one. They aren't that much less and I know I'd want a bigger one to take advantage of higher resolutions with that 8800GT.

Quote: Originally Posted by $SOLID$ Necro The first P-45 is at new egg from Asus..a bit pricey IMO at 209$ Newegg.com - ASUS P5Q Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P45 Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards I am a DFI fan from way back myself, and the second highest "Customer: rating at New Egg is the P-35 based "Blood Iron" at 115$ and with 63 reviews giving it a rating of 5 out of 5, it can't be too shabby! Newegg.com - DFI BloodIron P35-T2RL LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards Number 4 on the list is the Lan Party "Dark" for only a few $$ more, it has 49 reviews..also with a score of 5 Newegg.com - DFI LANPARTY DK P35-T2RS LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards Normally DFI is a tweekers OC board, that sometimes required a bit of fussing to get running right (Though you may need a Bios update for a 45NM CPU) I myself did not have any issues with them running right out of the box (AMD XP~ Socket 939) and the new ones seem to be even better according to the reviews I've read...if you OC, they are good choices. ASUS and Gigabyte are great boards also..but like you said, there are so many versions, it's hard to know which one is the best for your money, I do know from my last trip to Microcenter (A week ago) there was a stack of ASUS P5-K-'s in the discounted return pile, and I overheard one of the salesmen telling a customer that 95% of all those boards sold are returned DAO or not functioning correctly. Maybe someone else that has owned a good ASUS or Gigabyte can steer you in the right direction.

I have a pretty nice asus board from that microcenter, I may pawn it off for one of those DFI boards now that you mention it there necro...